Curious Cat: Deming on Management

Deming on Innovation

The moral is that it is necessary to innovate, to predict needs of the customer, give him more. He that innovates and is lucky will take the market

Because Deming talked about the importance of using data to improve processes some believe he only focused on "incremental improvement." Deming continually stressed the need to innovate. And stressed that those who did not innovate but aimed for "zero defects" or continual improvement of an outdated product or service were doomed to fail.

Does the customer invent new product of service? The customer generates nothing. No customer asked for electric lights... No customer asked for photography... No customer asked for an automobile... No customer asked for an integrated circuit.

While Dr. Deming understood customer focus was critical to success, he also realized you cannot rely on the customer for innovation. Customers, in general, do not realize what innovation they need. Innovation is one of the responsibilities the organization has to its customers.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming's management ideas have greatly influenced modern management practice. Many quotes and thoughts are attributed to W. Edwards Deming's system of management. Sometimes these represent his ideas accurately, and sometimes they do not. Here I attempt to clearly indicate what he actual said and include some of my thoughts on what he meant.